They were two items on Dillon Lombardi’s bucket list: Qualify for states and reach 100 career victories.

The Palmerton senior achieved both in a matter of 24 hours.

Lombardi opened the Southeast Regional wrestling tournament earlier this month by earning his 100th career victory, and closed the event by securing his first-ever trip to Hershey for the PIAA Championships.

“I hit two of the biggest goals that I ever had, getting 100 wins and making it to states,” said Lombardi. “It just feels amazing.”

It’s been a remarkable rise for Lombardi, from 13 wins as a freshman to 42 his senior year. It’s also been a long time coming for Lombardi, who has been wrestling for 13 years.

“I’ve probably been thinking about getting 100 wins for maybe nine years, just thinking about how cool it would be,” Lombardi said. “And then states probably when Lucas Christman went to states (in the 2017-18 season). I just thought that was so cool, and I knew I wanted to go to Hershey and I wanted to wrestle there.”

Lombardi has followed in the footsteps of many great wrestlers at Palmerton, but also carved his own path in the process.

“I think I just love the feeling of being able to be on the mat and wrestle,” said Lombardi. “When you get into that flow state of being able to move and do things, and just react instead of think, that’s so awesome. I also just love the environment. As a team, we’re really close and we’re all friends and push each other to get better.”

Earlier this season, Lombardi saw close friend, teammate and fellow senior Derek King reach 100 career wins.

At regionals, Lombardi won his opening bout on the first night of the event with a technical fall to record his 100th career victory, a moment that was celebrated with friends, family, teammates and coaches.

“It’s fulfilling because he’s worked so hard for so long,” said Bombers coach Justin Petersen. “For all of it to come to fruition for him, I’m really happy. I’m proud of him. It’s why we coach, for moments like this for these kids. We love to see them have success, especially a great kid like that.”

Making his second straight appearance at regionals, Lombardi earned a fourth-place finish at 172 pounds the following day to cap the tournament and punch his ticket to states for the first time.

As a sophomore, Lombardi placed sixth at districts. The last two seasons, he has advanced to the finals at districts, and after a seventh-place finish at regionals his junior year, Lombardi made another leap by securing a spot in the top five to earn a trip to Hershey.

“The experience from last year to this year was definitely important,” said Petersen. “Last year, he was nervous and struggled a little bit in that first match and that set him back a little bit. This year, his mentality is so different. He’s very focused, and it was almost more of a business trip; he wasn’t wide-eyed or thinking about where he was at. He knew what the goal was and he stuck to it. And he wrestled really well.”

At states, Lombardi bounced back from a loss in his opening match with a tough win in his first consolation match to advance to the second day of the tournament.

While his run at states ended with a setback in his next consolation match, Lombardi, who finished the season 42-11, wrestled with the heart of a champion in Hershey, just like he has throughout his career, which ended with 104 victories.

“He wanted to make it to states this year,” said Petersen. “I’m super proud of him. I’m proud of all of our guys. We had a good team this year, they’ve worked hard and I’m really proud of them. I’m going to miss the ones we’re going to see go as seniors. But I’m really proud of them. It’s been a great ride. I’m going to miss him.”